THE DAY A bass fisherman brings five smallmouth to the scales weighing between 20 and 25 pounds usually ranks high on their memory list, but not necessarily for Josh Douglas. That’s because the former Elite Series pro guides on Minnesota’s Mille Lacs Lake, some of the world’s best smallmouth water. It’s so good, in fact, that his daily goal for clients is 20 pounds, to include at least one 5-pounder.
During the late fall and early winter, his daily goal increases to between 25 and 28 pounds, and Douglas himself has had more than his share of catches that heavy. Will what he does on Mille Lacs work just as well on other smallmouth lakes around the country this time of year?
“Yes and no,” says Douglas, who has not only been guiding on Mille Lacs for nearly a decade but also chased smallmouth on other lakes around the country. “The specific conditions we have here in Minnesota are far different than what smallmouth fishermen have further south, on Pickwick Lake in Alabama, for example, so most of the
